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Friday, December 26, 2014

Leaked images show first look at WhatsApp calling

In February WhatsApp promised that it would be adding voice calling functionality to its hugely popular instant messaging app, and if a bunch of leaked screenshots are to be believed then the functionality is almost here. The renders have been made by Sander Tuit of AndroidWorld.nl, based on hidden code found in the latest version of the app.

There are actually two versions of WhatsApp for Android: one distributed through Google Play, and one hosted on the WhatsApp site. These screens have been built from code found in the latter version, which often contains bug fixes and features before they filter down to Google Play. As yet we don’t have any official response from WhatsApp, so it could be days or weeks before the feature finally goes live.

According to Sander Tuit, the calling options will be somewhat removed from the rest of the WhatsApp experience, with a separate screen showing recent call history available from within the app. It looks like you’ll be able to ‘slide to answer’, reply to calls with preset text responses, and connect to Bluetooth headsets. There’s also apparently an option to record calls.

With no comments from the WhatsApp team there’s no guarantee that these features will stay in their current form before they’re properly pushed out but it gives us a good idea of what the 2015 WhatsApp will do. Back in August the company CEO announced that the app had reached the 600 million user milestone and the ability to place and receive calls from within WhatsApp should swell its user base even further. Facebook splashed out $19 billion to acquire the messaging app earlier in 2014.